


mending (an afternoon away)

by experimentaldragonfire



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Picnics, Post-Canon, Quiet Afternoons, SPOP Fluff Bang 2020, She-Ra Fluff Bang, also kind of introspective, post-s5
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:20:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25629601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/experimentaldragonfire/pseuds/experimentaldragonfire
Summary: Catra and Adora sneak away from a day of diplomatic duties on an alien planet to eat lunch by a lake and talk about the process of healing and the concept of the future.Written for the She-Ra Fluff Bang 2020!
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 84





	mending (an afternoon away)

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was written as part of the She-Ra Fluff Bang 2020, organized by [Tolstoyevsky](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tolstoyevsky/pseuds/Tolstoyevsky)! I had a really fun time coming up with this idea, and it was lovely to collab with [crispy-bean](http://crispy-bean.tumblr.com), who did the INCREDIBLE art! Thank you so much--this was a wonderful experience to be part of!

They’ve been on the planet Candellia for three days when Catra pulls Adora aside, grabbing her by the arm from a side corridor as she heads from her room in the guest quarters of the palace (similar enough to Brightmoon to feel familiar, but still just not quite right, just alien enough to be a constant reminder that they were on an entirely different planet, and wasn’t that still incredible?) to meet with Bow and Glimmer and the handful of politicians that had been brought in once they’d explained their mission and their role in the fall of Horde Prime.

“Wha—Catra! Why are you lurking in the corridors?” Adora’s sharp tone belies her surprise, but lacks any of the irritation that might have colored the words if she’d genuinely been in a hurry. It’s been too long since she’s had a proper conversation with Catra—between the diplomacy and the traveling, the only time they get to themselves is when they collapse side-by-side in bed, and even then, they’re too exhausted to do anything but fall into dreamless sleep.

Catra brings a hand up to cover Adora’s mouth, whispering in her ear. “Shh! I’ve been planning something—how’d you like to ditch Sparkles and the gang and go do something fun for once?”

Adora wrestles the hand away, protesting even as her heart jumps at the prospect of spending time alone with Catra for once. “You know this is an important meeting! One that you’re supposed to be at too, actually”

“But meetings are literally ALL we’ve done since we got here! It’s the first time we’ve been on a planet that’s even remotely better-off than the other ones Horde Prime took over, and you’ve barely gotten to see any of it!”

“I don’t know, Catra...”

“What could it hurt? And anyway,” Catra pouts in an exaggerated expression, her mismatched eyes widening with false sadness, “I’ve spent all this time preparing a surprise for you.”

Adora hesitates, but knows she’s already been won over. The downsides to dating Catra, who she’s known since childhood and who probably knows her better than she knows herself, are that Catra can persuade her to do almost anything, regardless of whether it’s something they should be doing.

“...okay. Fine. But let’s go, quickly, before we run into anyone who knows where we’re supposed to be right now”

Catra grins. “That’s more like it!”

* * *

Catra leads her away from the palace, scampering through the sparse woodland surrounding the area and looking mildly annoyed when she has to wait for Adora to catch up.

“We can’t all use the trees as a shortcut, Catra! You were always faster than me, anyway”

Catra rolls her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just hurry up! I won’t wait all day, y’know”

Adora sticks out her tongue. “You would and you know it.”

“...okay, maybe I would. Only for you, though.”

They continue in companionable silence, Catra conceding to hang back to walk side-by-side with Adora now that they’re farther from the palace and their abandoned diplomatic duties. Adora twines their pinkies together and smiles to herself.

Eventually, the undergrowth and trees thin out, revealing a clearing bracketed by views of distant hills, and a lake stretching into the distance. Under a tree near the shore, one of the spare blankets from the spaceship is spread out next to a basket of food.

“I thought...” Catra begins, before Adora pulls her into a sudden hug, strong arms wrapped around her waist.

“This is perfect, how did you even find this place? When did you have the time?”

“I still...well. I still don’t sleep very well, and so when I can’t sleep, I go walking. I stumbled across this place a couple nights ago, and thought that we could use a break. All of us, but you especially.”

“I don’t—”

“Yes, you do. Adora, you’ve always put other people first—back in the Horde, in the Rebellion, even now, you’re still doing it! We saved Etheria, and immediately we’re back out here, fighting off the remainder of Horde Prime’s armies, helping other people rebuild—and yes, it’s important, but you’ve got to take time for yourself, too.”

Adora sighs. “Okay, yes, I guess you’re right. I’m trying, you know? It just feels...selfish. Like I shouldn’t be having fun, or relaxing, when there’s still so much to be done”

Catra narrows her eyes, fixing Adora with a stern expression. “There’s a lot to be done, yes, but you’re not the only one who can do it! You’ve got us, and everyone we meet along the way. Fixing the universe can’t rest on your shoulders alone, Adora. I won’t let it.”

Adora exhales slowly, loosening her grip on Catra’s waist and pulling back just enough to rest their foreheads together. She smiles gently, and leans in to kiss her, still reveling in the fact that she can just do that, whenever she wants.

“Okay, I get it. ‘Don’t try to fix the universe alone, Adora!’ ‘You’re allowed to want things for yourself, Adora!’ Well, right now, I think what I want is to spend the afternoon sitting with you next to this alien lake, eating whatever mystery food you’ve brought, and ignoring our responsibilities.”

Catra grins. “Sounds perfect.”

They settle on the blanket, Catra’s tail curving gently around Adora’s hips. She pulls the contents of the picnic basket out, one-by-one—the selection far surpasses anything Adora had imagined.

“Are you sure there’s anything left in the kitchens for anyone else to eat?”

“They’ve got more food than they know what to do with, Adora. I thought you’d stopped worrying about that, once…” she trails off, leaving the sentence open-ended. It doesn’t matter—Adora knows what Catra’s getting at.

“When I first got to Brightmoon, I felt….guilty, really. It was great, yeah, and the food was so much nicer than the same ration bars, day after day—but I would look around and think, why do we have all this? Why _didn’t_ we have this back ho—back in the Horde? And I was angry, about how we were treated—and how you didn’t take the chance to get _out_ , at the time.”

Catra bristles, but Adora runs a soothing hand down her back, bringing it back up to curl her fingers around the loose strands of hair at the nape of Catra’s neck.

“Shh—I’m not done yet. There’s been a lot that I’ve learned, since then—and I don’t blame you, Catra.

“But why _wouldn’t_ you? I hurt you, Adora! I hurt your— _our—_ friends, I destroyed property, lives...there’s so much I have to fix, so much to apologize for…”

Adora drapes an arm around Catra’s shoulder, pulling her close. “Catra, listen to yourself. You _know_ that you have to fix things, yeah—and that’s the first important step to actually doing it. And you are! You _are_ fixing it. You’re here with me now, right? And we’re out here, doing work, helping piece back together everything that Horde Prime broke. That Hordak broke. That, yeah, _you_ broke.” She paused, and waited to see if Catra would protest. Finding her silent, Adora continued:

“We can’t change the past. If we could, oh goodness, Catra, there’s so _much_ I would do differently. But we’ve just got to work with the present we have, and go from here, and do what good we can with what we have. And so none of the past influences how I feel about our present—about our friends, and our mission, and about _you._ Oh, Catra, I….” she took a deep, shuddering breath, taken aback by the emotions that threatened to overwhelm her. “I don’t think I could ever have _not_ loved you.”

A faint rumbling starts up under her fingers, and Adora recognizes the sound as Catra purring, though the wavering quality of the vocalization tells her that she’s not the only one holding back tears. They stay, side-by-side, picnic food abandoned in front of them, for a moment that seems at once like an eternity and a split second.

Eventually, Catra turns to Adora with a small grin. “You’re still not taking on the saving of the universe by yourself, you know.”

Adora rolls her eyes and shoves Catra gently, teasing. “We’ve been over this! I get it!”

“I figured you probably need reminding, it’s been what? Twenty minutes? I was worried you’d abandon me to find some other entire planet to save, and _then_ what would I do with our lunch?”

Adora snorts, and throws a wrapped sandwich in Catra’s direction. “Maybe we should actually eat, then. Before I go running off to save the universe— _again._ ”

The return to their familiar banter is a comforting change, a reminder that there’s still that best-friends closeness that brings the ability to swap between heavy subjects and lighthearted teasing in the space of minutes. The conversation about the past and the future isn’t over— _won’t_ be over until they’ve settled into their roles in this post-war world, when the mending’s well on its way to completion and they don’t feel like they’re ill-suited for the more diplomatic aspects of making reparations. But it’s shelved, for now, while Catra and Adora take a moment away from prying eyes to just _exist_.

From here, the lunch portion of their impromptu outing goes smoothly, all things considered, They’ve reached a brief, silent agreement to not talk about their current work, and instead sit and take in the scenery, Adora resting her head on Catra’s shoulder. Around them, the sounds of the forest echo across the open water, and the faint rippling of the lake reflects the lengthening rays of one of the stars that provides light for this planet.

The light dims, slowly, the sky blooming into color above them: rich reds and oranges, edged in purple. The few clouds that had remained through the afternoon now darken into a new shade, silhouetted into deep blue as the shadows take hold. It’s the most peaceful Catra and Adora have been in the recent months, and Adora finds herself wishing that they didn’t have to go back to the bustle of meetings and diplomatic events they’ve got planned for the next few days.

She pushes all thoughts of their busy schedule out of her mind, and focuses on the little things—the whisper-gentle touch of Catra’s tail against her skin, the roughness of the blanket beneath her fingers, the smell of the fresh air that she breathes in, so different than the stuffy, recycled quality of air when they’re traveling between planets. This is...nice. Serene, almost. She smiles to herself, and lets her eyes drift closed, as they’ve been threatening to do for the past hour.

Adora is brought back to consciousness by Catra’s gentle whispering in her ear, and a firm grasp around her wrist.

“Hey, Adora. As much as I love you—and I love _this_ —my arm’s gone to sleep, and everyone will be wondering where we’ve gone.”

Adora groans. “Five more minutes?”

Catra’s laugh is gorgeous, all rumbly and genuine, half-purr and half-chuckle. “You know it won’t just be five minutes.”

“Can’t we just pretend?”

“Nope, no, not letting you. If we’re out much longer, Sparkles will send a search party to come find us.”

She’s probably right, and Adora makes a noise of protest before burying her face more solidly in Catra’s neck. Catra sighs, but it’s full of affection, not exasperation.

“C’mon, up. I’ve gotta pack up this blanket, anyway. And I promise you can go straight back to bed when we get back to the palace.”

“Don’t wanna….move.”

Adora does, eventually, concede that she has to get up and rejoin society. In a daze, she stumbles to her feet, shuffling off of the blanket, and blinks blearily as she watches Catra pack up the remains of their picnic.

“Okay, that’s about everything. You still awake over there?” Catra is by her side in what seems like the blink of an eye, blanket looped through the basket handles, which in turn are grasped in her fist. Adora hums her response, and Catra grins back, her eyes almost luminous in the dim light of the forest. She curls her free arm around Adora’s waist, letting the taller girl lean on her, and starts guiding them both back the way they’d come.

“Come on, time to head back. And...let’s do this more, okay? You deserve more breaks. _We_ deserve more breaks.”

Through her sleepy haze, Adora smiles. “That sounds perfect,” she murmurs, and watches the way Catra’s lips twist into a soft smile.

Rebuilding the universe in the wake of Horde Prime can’t be done overnight, and can’t be done alone. It’s a process that’s going to take a lot more than a few representatives from Etheria, even when they’re doing the best they can. If they’re not careful, the amount of work to be done might overwhelm them, leave them burnt out and hopeless.

But with some care, and the reminder that it’s okay to stop for a bit, to breathe, to carve out moments in between the action, Adora’s sure that they’ll make it through okay.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Please go check out [crispy-bean's Tumblr post with the artwork](https://crispy-bean.tumblr.com/post/625180727916560384/they-stay-side-by-side-picnic-food-abandoned-in), and feel free to follow me on tumblr at [experimentaldragonfire ](http://experimentaldragonfire.tumblr.com), or my [writing blog](http://experimentaldragonfire-fics.tumblr.com) for updates on upcoming fanfics.
> 
> Thank you again, to Christine, to Tol, and to everyone else who participated in the fluff bang! (and special shoutout to the several people with whom I spent an entire day talking about the most cursed SPOP AU of all time: Horse Prime)


End file.
